The rapid acceleration in Africa’s software developer base presents a major economic opportunity for African countries to strengthen their competitiveness and build industries powered by homegrown digital skills, says consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Increasing the participation of women in software development is a critical differentiator for Africa’s future competitiveness, as several markets remain significantly underserved despite proven potential, it says.

Africa’s developer community is expanding faster than anywhere else in the world, which underscores the continent’s growing influence in global technology creation, BCG says in its 'Develop the Developers: A Strategic Priority for Africa' report.

Although the continent has 4.7-million developers, which are far fewer than regions such as Asia with 73.9-million and Europe with 27.5-million, the talent base has been expanding at 21% a year between 2019 and 2024, which outpaces the growth rate of every other continent.

The report shows that, while South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the largest absolute numbers of developers, countries like Tunisia, Kenya and Morocco are distinguishing themselves in terms of scale and momentum.

Further, nations such as Ethiopia and Angola are recording some of the fastest increases in developer activity from modest starting points, which underscores how intentional ecosystem design can change national trajectories.

“Building Africa’s developer base is one of the highest‑return investments countries can make. It strengthens resilience, drives economic diversification and unlocks the growth engines of the future,” says BCG Casablanca MD and senior partner, BCG Tech Hub in Africa head and report co-author Hamid Maher.

The growth of Africa’s developer community is remarkable not only for its speed, but for the structural shifts underpinning it. The continent’s youthful population, expanding digital access, rising urban tech hubs and targeted national policy choices are converging to create a deep and dynamic talent pool, he says.

However, women remain a vastly underrepresented share of this fast‑growing developer population, which is a strategic gap that, if closed, could significantly accelerate the continent’s digital capacity.

Tunisia stands out as a continental leader with 24% women developers by 2024, which is the highest on the continent, driven by a decade of focused growth and efforts to drive inclusion.

By contrast, major technology hubs, such as Morocco and Egypt, count fewer than 14% women developers, despite their large and rapidly expanding technology ecosystems.

“This disparity demonstrates that population size alone does not define digital strength or gender inclusion. Countries that have invested in education systems, digital policies, research networks and supportive tech ecosystems are emerging as leaders,” the report points out.

Tunisia’s progress provides strong evidence that gender inclusion responds to intentional policy choices, and that scaling women’s participation represents an untapped growth lever for many African markets.

For example, Morocco has seen exceptional developer community expansion driven by sustained public investment and a strong innovation agenda. Cities like Ben Guerir have expanded their developer communities 50-fold in a decade, and thereby becoming a major node in the country’s technology landscape, supported by university infrastructure and committed industrial champions.

However, Morocco’s lag in growing its female developer base highlights a significant opportunity to deepen the impact of its broader innovation strategy, BCG states.

Further, this shift in Africa's developer community is both intentional and transformative, says Maher.

“What we are witnessing across the continent is the result of deliberate investment, namely policies that prioritise skills, education systems aligned to future industries, and ecosystems designed to unlock talent at scale. Countries that take this seriously are accelerating far faster than demographics alone would ever predict,” he says.

Countries such as Kenya and Rwanda illustrate that smaller economies with vibrant ecosystems can outperform far larger markets in gender inclusion, reinforcing that policy, ecosystem alignment and cultural support rather than scale determine outcomes.

These examples highlight a clear pattern across the continent, namely where policy, education and industry alignment come together, developer communities flourish and women’s participation rises accordingly, he says.

“As these communities grow, they are strengthening the foundations needed for sustainable innovation and long‑term economic expansion,” Maher says.

The report finds a clear connection between countries with large developer populations and those producing greater volumes of scientific research. In 2020, Morocco and Egypt recorded the highest number of scientific publications in Africa, which mirrored their strong developer concentrations.

Expanding women’s participation in software development stands to amplify this effect, unlock new talent, strengthen research ecosystems and accelerate Africa’s readiness to shape the next wave of global digital and AI technologies, BCG says in the report.

“From Tunis to Nairobi and Casablanca to Cape Town, developer communities are rewriting Africa’s technology narrative. Their growth is expanding economic participation, enabling knowledge creation, strengthening local industries and contributing to new sources of productivity and global engagement.

“Developing the continent’s developers is not simply a digital agenda; critically, it’s an economic one.

“When countries nurture strong developer communities, they create the conditions for new businesses to emerge, for scientific output to grow, and for innovation to flourish and thereby build long‑term national competitiveness,” Maher says.